How-to: Make Reusable Items From a Broken Tote Bag

By Karen Lee / June 16, 2011 / 2 minutes of reading

Writing for Crafting a Green World has made me stop procrastinating and finish those U.F.O.’s (Un-Finished Objects) that have been dying for attention. Yesterday, I finally went to work and de-constructed a broken zip quilted tote bag and turned it into a magazine basket, lid handle holders and some coasters.

The zipper broke the first week I bought the bag and I’ve been using it without being able to close it for a long time. I was ready to part with it because the straps were too long and thin and it was awkward to carry. I didn’t feel right about donating a broken bag, so it’s been collecting dust and I desperately wanted to upcycle it into something useful.

Here’s how to make a magazine basket, lid handle holders and coasters from your own broken bag pile.

Next >> Magazine Basket

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About The Author

Karen Lee

Karen lives a simple, frugal, green life and shares her eco tips and news on ecokaren and is a co-founder of Green Sisterhood, a network of community of green women bloggers, making change. When she's not managing Green Sisterhood or blogging on ecokaren, she is a chauffeur to two greenagers, wife to an accidental recycler, master chef to hungry locavores, seamstress, knitter, and dumpster diver, not necessarily in that order.